Friday, 29 November 2013

So the fifty year anniversary has
come and gone. We have two stories back
in the archive with rumours of at least one more if not nearly all of them to
come and I am resuming my blog with the first of several obligatory 50 themed
list. The first is my favourite 50 TV
stories from before the 2005 re-launch.
I am not saying that these are the best stories (a couple most certainly
are not) and there are several stories which on another day and in another mood
may have made the list. I am also not
claiming to have seen all of the original run. I have generally ignored those
stories which are only available as soundtracks or recons as it has been several
years since I have seen/heard them; although where a particular story stands
out in my mind I have ignored this rule.
It is my list and I will be capricious with it if I want to!

We start with the Hartnell era:

1.An Unearthly Child

This is where it all began, with
an acknowledged classic not just of Doctor Who but of TV in general. As the Moff has noted this was the first time
that TV created an enduring character of its own, rather than adapting one from
books or films. What is incredible in
retrospect is how brave and brief this episode is. The bravery of the episode is in shrouding
two of the four central characters in mystery, then piling onto that enough SF
concepts to power a show for 50 years to date, as the actual introduction to
the show. It is an almost obtuse way to
go about things. The brevity and density
of storytelling in this episode is streets ahead of anything else you would see
on TV at the time or even the majority of pilots now. The first episode manages to form a short
story unto of itself and a the basis for two years’ worth of character arcs
too. Finally the whole thing is shot
with an Ealing-Noir feel to it that could just as easily have formed the basis
for a 60s X-Files. Absolutely essential
viewing. 100,000BC is for all intents
and purposes a different story, although I am claiming the shadow on the TARDIS
cliff-hanger as a final brilliant moment for An Unearthly Child .

2.The Daleks

I am aware of three version of
this story. We will start with the TV
show itself. This is really the first
example of the show doing whatever the hell it wanted to imagine. The absolute cardinal rule of “No bug eyed
monsters” is broken the very first time the TARDIS leaves Earth simply because
the writer and designer decided to tell the story they wanted to tell. I have already written at length in this blog
about why the Daleks are totally brilliant and it all starts here. The fascist overtones are not quiet there in
the way we would go on to see and expect, but the other Nation trope of Nuclear
War most definitely is. Oh and for what
it is worth this is totally the start of the Time War.

The design and production
standards are terrific bearing in mind the budget of loose change and the Blue
Peter store cupboard. The original Dalek
city still looks very striking to this day.
The direction is creative. The
overall impact of the story was clearly huge launching Dalekmania and
guaranteeing the continuance of the show after a rocky few weeks in terms of
ratings.

The story shows the core
character of the Doctor to great effect.
He is first and foremost an alien with a penchant for travel. Although the character is even now beginning
to soften we also see the first true example of the Doctor’s recklessness and
willingness to manipulate his companions when his curiosity or sense of purpose
gets the better of him.

David Whitaker arguably created a
definitive and perfect version of this story when he novelised it. Unlike the later novelisations (particularly,
but not exclusively those by Terrance Dicks) Whitaker makes his novelisation an
genuinely literary effort telling the story from the perspective of Ian and
rewriting An Unearthly Child as the immediate prologue. 100,000BC is largely pants anyway so I like
the thought of Ian taking some dramatic licence when he comes to write his
memoirs!

Finally we have the Peter Cushing
film adaptation. Anyone who thinks this
is a better more concise version of the TV show can go do one as far as I am
concerned. That being said the Daleks
work well and Cushing is likeable enough as some dotty old human who likes to
be called the Doctor. I’ve now decided
that this story is a time war variant of the original with Cushing being a
chameleon arched version of the Hurt Doctor.

3.The Keys of Marinus

Okay, this one is not what I or
anyone else would call a classic story.
However, it holds a place in my affections for two reasons. Firstly, on a personal level, it is one of
the first stories I ever saw and was my first Hartnell one. Secondly, it is yet another example of the
confidence and ambition of the first year of the show to do and try
anything. Another Nation script it is
hardly the blockbuster that the Daleks was.
However, it does have some really great moments in it. I love the spookiness of the journey with
Barbara being the only one to see things as they truly are. Towards the end we get the first real glimpse
of the Doctor as a scholar and advocate.
None of the episodes and locations are around long enough to get truly
dull and the whole thing is really quiet pacey for early 60s TV. Compare this to say the Reign of Terror or
The Web Plant to see what I mean.

4.The Aztecs

Oh the Aztecs let me count the
ways I love you. Probably the best
“pure” historical the TV series ever did.
One of the best Who stories ever and one of the best pieces of
television produced in the 60s too. As
much as this is a pure historical, what is often overlooked is that it is also
pure SF story as well as being an
engaging dramatic examination of cultural attitudes to morality. A genuine examination of whether a time
traveller could affect history and if so to what extend they can and should do
so. You will not see a mainstream SF
show or film approach this level of thoughtfulness again. This is easily one of the most intelligent
stories the show has ever produced, add in some gorgeous dialogue and
performances and this is a near to perfect as you can get. Unhappily the new series would never be able
to devote the equivalent to a two part episode to a simple exploration of real
history.

5.The Romans

We go from the historically
sublime to the ridiculous. This is
basically Doctor Who doing the best Carry On story. There are a good number of Doctor Who first
in this one. It is the first comedy,
it’s the first real glance at the softer version of Hartnell’s Doctor, it’s the
first time we really see the Doctor playing the fool to his enemies (two and a
bit years before Troughton supposedly invented this), it is also (impliedly)
the first time the Doctor is responsible for a famous historical incident. William Russell and Jacqueline Hill do more
to convince of a relationship in a few minutes at the start than the grandiose
writing of the Amy/Rory arc does in two and half years. Vicki gets her first proper story and is immediately
far more fun to be around that Susan ever was.
There are some nasty moments in this for Ian and to a lesser extent
Barbara, but overall the story is one of the best farces you will ever
see. Out and Out fun.

6.The Time Meddler

The finale (such as they were
back then) to the second season and a real shake up to the established format
of the show. Aside from some shenanigans
in The Chase this is the first of what used to be called the
pseudo-historicals, that is to say stories set in the past with an SF element
(other than the Doctor, TARDIS and companions).
This is the first story to posit that you can change history (or at
least that a Time Lord can) it is also the first story to feature a Time Lord
other than the Doctor (and Susan). It
stands as the template for literally dozens of later historicals and for my
money the Monk is a far more interesting character than the Master was in the
Classic series.

7.The Daleks’ Masterplan

I have neither seen the
reconstruction or heard the soundtrack to this story, but I have seen the
orphaned episodes and got the telesnaps and I also read the novelisations ages
again and crickey o riley this may be just about the most epic Doctor Who story
ever made. The Daleks would not be as
unstoppable or powerful a force again until the RTD era. The Doctor loses two companions and arguable
hastens the onset of his own first regeneration. The Monk Returns! Diplomatic SF/Space Opera of the kind
employed in Star Trek and Babylon 5 is invented. It has even got a Christmas Special episode
in it and features Nick “Brig” Courtney in his first role. Almost certainly the
most ambitious Doctor Who story of all time!